Funny as I'm about to be promoted at my VFD and was just named the Education Trustee for the northwest LA chapter of a national firefighting fraternal organization.

Brilliant move by your chief...promote yet another officer that lives AND works out of the district and hence is completely unavailable at times. Yet you continue to wonder why you have no officers available at fires. Pathetic continuation of the same nonsensical approach.

Was just asked to come on as an hand-off instructor with state fire training agency.

Golly that's pretty impressive. I have been teaching hand-off courses for the NFA for almost 2 decades. Of course that pales when you consider I have been a tech college fire instructor and certified teacher for 33 years. (Still want to try and impress us with your big accomplishments?) By the way, any decent instructor, or decent firefighter for that matter, will have other firefighters or neighboring departments ask them on occasion to show them a new skill or teach a class.

And I still have several other departments calling asking me to teach on a regular basis. In fact, I just did 2 classes for 2 departments in a neighboring parish.

Well, since you have described your neighbors being as pathetic a train wreck as your VFD that makes complete sense. "Tonight guys I will teach you the top ten excuses for not going interior. 1) You might get a boo boo, 2) You have to clean equipment, 3) We need to fill command vests first, 4) ...

So .................................. Your point was??????

His point was pretty clear...too bad you are too obtuse to see it.

Thanks for the little resume show again...I hope mine wasn't too much of a bitch slap for you.

Funny as I'm about to be promoted at my VFD and was just named the Education Trustee for the northwest LA chapter of a national firefighting fraternal organization.

Brilliant move by your chief...promote yet another officer that lives AND works out of the district and hence is completely unavailable at times. Yet you continue to wonder why you have no officers available at fires. Pathetic continuation of the same nonsensical approach.

So officers should be available at all times? How about when you were working at your FT gig ... 100 miles away?

P.S .... I can respond in for daytime incidents as my FT is the neighboring district though I rarely do unless it's a working fire .

Was just asked to come on as an hand-off instructor with state fire training agency.

Golly that's pretty impressive. I have been teaching hand-off courses for the NFA for almost 2 decades. Of course that pales when you consider I have been a tech college fire instructor and certified teacher for 33 years. (Still want to try and impress us with your big accomplishments?) By the way, any decent instructor, or decent firefighter for that matter, will have other firefighters or neighboring departments ask them on occasion to show them a new skill or teach a class.

Cool.

And I still have several other departments calling asking me to teach on a regular basis. In fact, I just did 2 classes for 2 departments in a neighboring parish.

Well, since you have described your neighbors being as pathetic a train wreck as your VFD that makes complete sense. "Tonight guys I will teach you the top ten excuses for not going interior. 1) You might get a boo boo, 2) You have to clean equipment, 3) We need to fill command vests first, 4) ...

Actually these were departments to the west of my FT gig with paid staffs, large budgets and good reputations.

Sorry to disappoint ya.

So .............................. .... Your point was??????

His point was pretty clear...too bad you are too obtuse to see it.

Ya, too bad it wasn't the case.

Thanks for the little resume show again...I hope mine wasn't too much of a bitch slap for you.
Nope.

Funny thing is that I been teaching regionally and statewide just as long, but hey, it's not like me to brag.

First,
I would like to say hi to most all of you. I have been lurking here for quite some time, (since around 1999 or so). It has made me sad to see many of the high quality posters leave over the years. With that said, many high quality folks still contribute and that has me coming back. As I am no longer a FF, I have kept silent for many of these years, just posting once. I had reached out after trying to help a child who had gone off a cliff on his bike. No helmet. Just horrible, crushed skull. Thank you to those who responded to that post.
I guess I would consider myself a buff now….
Just a quick overview of me so you have at least some understanding of my background. I was in a department outside of Poughkeepsie NY from 1992-1998. I would consider the fire department I was on as “aggressive”. We were a combination department. We were “fortunate” to get good, consistent jobs. I loved it and wish I had stayed the course.
I have come to a point that I need to post, just once, my true and utter disgust with LA. I have followed his post over the years, and am amazed that people like him are in the service. I could elaborate, but will not waste my time. This person seems to feed off the attention and I have no interest in feeding this troll.
Even being out of the service for as long as I have, I have entered into a neighbors house that was on fire, stopped at ever car accident that I have come across, and ALWAYS try to help those in distress and need. It is who I am, and who many of you are. Keep up the good fight!
I just wanted to reach out and thank you (and you know who you are) that do this job (IMHO) the right way.
Best regards, and stay safe!
K -

My point is, you keep making excuse after excuse after excuse, keep posting your resume, and keep trying to justify your pathetic actions.

I couldn't give two schitts of Obama appointed you Czar of the fire service, you'd still be a pathetic waste of turn out gear.

Originally Posted by LAFE

And again, those who work with me disagree.

I find it odd that nobody from either of your FDs have ever posted in your defense.

Funny thing is that I been teaching regionally and statewide just as long, but hey, it's not like me to brag.

I can imagine you sitting there typing this with a smirk on yur face, the fact is you keep posting everything you "do", every time you "teach" and every course you take as if you were a child looking to Mommy for attention.

‎"The education of a firefighter and the continued education of a firefighter is what makes "real" firefighters. Continuous skill development is the core of progressive firefighting. We learn by doing and doing it again and again, both on the training ground and the fireground."
Lt. Ray McCormack, FDNY

"A fire department that writes off civilians faster than an express line of 6 reasons or less is not progressive, it's dangerous, because it's run by fear. Fear does not save lives, it endangers them." -- Lt. Ray McCormack FDNY

I find it odd that nobody from either of your FDs have ever posted in your defense.

I don't believe anyone from either department is a member at this site.

I can imagine you sitting there typing this with a smirk on yur face, the fact is you keep posting everything you "do", every time you "teach" and every course you take as if you were a child looking to Mommy for attention.

The only time I bring it up is when my activity regarding teaching or attending classes is challenged.

Sorry, we are not buying it... and you can't give it away.

Don't really care what you buy. Again, those who work with me know who I am, and that is really all that counts.

"A fire department that writes off civilians faster than an express line of 6 reasons or less is not progressive, it's dangerous, because it's run by fear. Fear does not save lives, it endangers them." -- Lt. Ray McCormack FDNY

"A fire department that writes off civilians faster than an express line of 6 reasons or less is not progressive, it's dangerous, because it's run by fear. Fear does not save lives, it endangers them." -- Lt. Ray McCormack FDNY

‎"The education of a firefighter and the continued education of a firefighter is what makes "real" firefighters. Continuous skill development is the core of progressive firefighting. We learn by doing and doing it again and again, both on the training ground and the fireground."
Lt. Ray McCormack, FDNY

YOU SHOULD ALWAYS ACT - yeah there are times when you should limit your actions and dang right sometimes it does take courage to limit your actions such as the Worchester cold storage. But always try your best. Years ago we were discussing wildfire tactics -talked about having a running head fire and a small crew. Point was made , don't wring your hands and watch, start flanking it and you never know, you might get a favorable wind shift and all of a sudden your little flank line pays big dividends. Ill be blunt -I tried for years to give you the benefit of the doubt. But you are just a coward and you are trying to pull the rest of the fire service down to your level so youll feel better about yourself.

You do have a point there. One needs only to look at the Worchester fire to see the courage it took for command to say "no more". However, the men there have something you don't, guts.

Once again, so you cannot use this to your advantage, not a single person is advocating making entry into structures that the conditions have deteriorated to untenable. They understand that there is a stopping point. Unfortunately, our stopping point and yours are so far apart, the Hubble Space Telescope couldn't see that far.

Funny as I'm about to be promoted at my VFD and was just named the Education Trustee for the northwest LA chapter of a national firefighting fraternal organization.

Brilliant move by your chief...promote yet another officer that lives AND works out of the district and hence is completely unavailable at times. Yet you continue to wonder why you have no officers available at fires. Pathetic continuation of the same nonsensical approach.

So officers should be available at all times? How about when you were working at your FT gig ... 100 miles away?

P.S .... I can respond in for daytime incidents as my FT is the neighboring district though I rarely do unless it's a working fire .

First of all, I wasn't a LINE officer on either department until Monday night, I was the training officer. Now I am a Lieutenant on #1 POC FD. Further, I never said EVERY OFFICER should be able to respond, I said you can't guarantee ANY officer will respond. Reading is fundamental.

Was just asked to come on as an hand-off instructor with state fire training agency.

Golly that's pretty impressive. I have been teaching hand-off courses for the NFA for almost 2 decades. Of course that pales when you consider I have been a tech college fire instructor and certified teacher for 33 years. (Still want to try and impress us with your big accomplishments?) By the way, any decent instructor, or decent firefighter for that matter, will have other firefighters or neighboring departments ask them on occasion to show them a new skill or teach a class.

Cool.

Yepper, so you see Bobby, your resume and your continual need to post it really isn'tall that impressive.

And I still have several other departments calling asking me to teach on a regular basis. In fact, I just did 2 classes for 2 departments in a neighboring parish.

Well, since you have described your neighbors being as pathetic a train wreck as your VFD that makes complete sense. "Tonight guys I will teach you the top ten excuses for not going interior. 1) You might get a boo boo, 2) You have to clean equipment, 3) We need to fill command vests first, 4) ...

Actually these were departments to the west of my FT gig with paid staffs, large budgets and good reputations.

Sorry to disappoint ya.

And they call you with your attitude to teach them? I was right then. [/COLOR]

So .............................. .... Your point was??????

His point was pretty clear...too bad you are too obtuse to see it.

Ya, too bad it wasn't the case.

Uh Huh...

Thanks for the little resume show again...I hope mine wasn't too much of a bitch slap for you.

Nope.

Sure thing.

Funny thing is that I been teaching regionally and statewide just as long, but hey, it's not like me to brag.

Really? Are you serious? You can't wait to broadcast every little class you attend. yeah, you may not like to brag but you sure like to boast.

You do have a point there. One needs only to look at the Worchester fire to see the courage it took for command to say "no more". However, the men there have something you don't, guts.

Once again, so you cannot use this to your advantage, not a single person is advocating making entry into structures that the conditions have deteriorated to untenable. They understand that there is a stopping point. Unfortunately, our stopping point and yours are so far apart, the Hubble Space Telescope couldn't see that far.

But they are advocating making entry into a structure with personnel who do not have adequate experience to operate interior without experienced supervision without experienced supervision.

And to me that is not acceptable.

It is also, not acceptable under the current manpower and experience conditions of my VFD to operate without exterior incident command, yet there are posters here that know nothing of my VFD that are stating that I am wrong.

Yes, is my idea of safety for my members likely a higher standard than most of the posters here? YES. And I'm not apologizing for that. Every one of my members will return home uninjured, and if that precludes them from making entry into situations where others would commit manpower, so be it, but I will not see my members injured, especially for property.

It's fair to say that the citizens of our district do not have that expectation.

It's fair to say that the citizens of our district do not have that expectation.

Until you've told them, up front, in plain English, "Look, we probably won't be able to go inside and save your family or possessions. I'm sorry, but that's the way things are," you can't assume that they have that expectation.

"A fire department that writes off civilians faster than an express line of 6 reasons or less is not progressive, it's dangerous, because it's run by fear. Fear does not save lives, it endangers them." -- Lt. Ray McCormack FDNY

But they are advocating making entry into a structure with personnel who do not have adequate experience to operate interior without experienced supervision without experienced supervision.

And to me that is not acceptable.

It is also, not acceptable under the current manpower and experience conditions of my VFD to operate without exterior incident command, yet there are posters here that know nothing of my VFD that are stating that I am wrong.

Yes, is my idea of safety for my members likely a higher standard than most of the posters here? YES. And I'm not apologizing for that. Every one of my members will return home uninjured, and if that precludes them from making entry into situations where others would commit manpower, so be it, but I will not see my members injured, especially for property.

It's fair to say that the citizens of our district do not have that expectation.

So to get there you just need a bunch of old guys that have done the job for forty years to join and then work forty miles away that are of little use to the vfd or the community.
I would say that your idea of safety is crippling to the community, the initiative of your members and the morale of the unit. Not to mention that you health standards are dangerous to the community and the firefighters themselves. "Hey, your terribly fat have high BP?" "Under our 'warm body' philosophy towards volunteering you will fit in nicely!" "We don't do anything strenuous anyway because it might be dangerous."

But they are advocating making entry into a structure with personnel who do not have adequate experience to operate interior without experienced supervision without experienced supervision.

And to me that is not acceptable.

It is also, not acceptable under the current manpower and experience conditions of my VFD to operate without exterior incident command, yet there are posters here that know nothing of my VFD that are stating that I am wrong.

Yes, is my idea of safety for my members likely a higher standard than most of the posters here? YES. And I'm not apologizing for that. Every one of my members will return home uninjured, and if that precludes them from making entry into situations where others would commit manpower, so be it, but I will not see my members injured, especially for property.

It's fair to say that the citizens of our district do not have that expectation.

So to get there you just need a bunch of old guys that have done the job for forty years to join and then work forty miles away that are of little use to the vfd or the community.

Given that most of the good paying jobs in this area have to do with either working out of town or working in the gasfields, are you suggesting that we turn away members with the physical ability to fulfill an interior role?

I would say that your idea of safety is crippling to the community, the initiative of your members and the morale of the unit.

No, right now I would say that my idea of safety will likely prevent a injury of LODD given our current staffing, which in the end, does trump the needs of the community.

Not to mention that you health standards are dangerous to the community and the firefighters themselves.

Given that I do not know of a VFD or combination department in this half of the state that requires physicals for their volunteer members, we're obviously not alone.

Members who want to operate as interior are required to complete an obstacle course in gear and PPE during the application process in a specified time, so we do have a performance and a a physical ability standard.

"We don't do anything strenuous anyway because it might be dangerous."

Honest question, and this may have been asked/answered before....are you sure your citizens know the limits of their FD? What message/media has the FD used to notify the citizens of this policy?

Common sense.

They know what they pay in taxes vs. the city.

They know we are volunteer.

And they know the LE and EMS will also take longer.

This really isn't rocket science. They know that living in the rural area has consequences. They see it everyday with road maintenance and other basic services. The folks in this area know that they are served by a VFD with extended response times.

That doesn't mean that they know the response time, and actions, of the fire department will be any different than the city.

They know we are volunteer.

That's nice. The community where Dept 1 is knows we are volunteer... They also know that when we show up, we're there to help, not wring our hands and say we're sorry. Same goes for the village and townships Dept 2 covers. Again, being a volunteer doesn't justify inaction.

And they know the LE and EMS will also take longer.

But I bet they also know that when LE shows up, they're going to do their job. And I bet they know the same about EMS, they're going to show up and go to work.

This really isn't rocket science. They know that living in the rural area has consequences. They see it everyday with road maintenance and other basic services. The folks in this area know that they are served by a VFD with extended response times.

But what do they expect you to do when you show up? They may understand that it's going to be a longer response, but do they know that when you show up you may or may not do anything but confine the fire to the building of origin? Do they know you might "let nature take it's course?"

"A fire department that writes off civilians faster than an express line of 6 reasons or less is not progressive, it's dangerous, because it's run by fear. Fear does not save lives, it endangers them." -- Lt. Ray McCormack FDNY